Konami Code easter egg discovered on Google’s Chromebook Pixel

The Chromebook Pixel has been talked about in regards to specs and pricing, however it would appear as if there is also a rather interesting easter egg. This one deals with the Konami Code and interestingly enough, this is not the first time Google has hidden a Konami Code easter egg in one of their products. Way back in mid-2008 Google Reader had one that greeted you with “Moshi moshi” and marked all your feeds with 30 unread items.

For those not remembering the Konami Code, this goes back to 80's video games and gave you 30 lives. It was also referred to as the Contra Code. Well, it seems Google has struck once again with the code, this time on the Chromebook Pixel. Basically, if you open your Pixel and type up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right (using the arrow keys), then B, then A you will see the surprise. The LED strip on the top will put on a light show.

Neat, but of course this is not something that is going to magically make the price seem any more attractive. Simply put, the Chromebook Pixel is still expensive. No word as to who from Google made sure this happened, but we suppose that is some of the fun of an easter egg -- not only discovering it, but also having a bit of mystery as to where (or who) it came from. It does seem to go without saying though, that whoever is responsible must be a fan of 80's video games.

Looking back, the Konami Code was made popular with Contra on the NES, but was originally created by Kazuhisa Hashimoto when he was working on Gradius. Aside from the NES, variations were eventually released for the SNES and even the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The code was also seen in Wreck-It Ralph when it was used by King Candy (hat tip to Wikipedia for the Konami Code knowledge).